What an awful day for travelers in the Northeast. I should know, I am one of them. My plans to get out of town were axed when the snow started coming down this morning. I am not alone, as well over 500 flights were canceled at all three New York area airports today as a storm that was predicted to drop as much as 5-6 inches of snow on the city and even more in the suburbs swept through the region.

Many people were planning on getting a head start on next week's Christmas travel madness by leaving today, but now find themselves instead sitting in their local airports. The snow began falling at about 10 a.m. in Manhattan and turned into a snowy/rain mixture by 12-1 p.m. The National Weather Service predicts that the snow will turn into sleet by Friday afternoon and become mostly icy rain by this evening.

Newark Liberty International Airport has reported close to 400 canceled flights for today with the remainder delayed up to 5 hours. Other airports that have seen cancellations include Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago area airports.

The storm's next stop? Connecticut and Massachusetts, where the weather service predicts a snow fall of up to 14 inches. New York however isn't out of the woods just yet, as another storm is predicted for both Saturday and Sunday.

As always simply call your airport before you leave this weekend to check on your flight's status. To stay up to date on this storm head on over to the National Weather Service. Safe travels!